Perhaps Ligurian or Greek at its origins, Pisa was then an Etruscan city, before becoming a Roman colony. The Romans built a port there, which was very active. It later belonged to the Lombard kingdom, then to the Carolingian Empire.
From the Middle Ages it prospered economically, politically and artistically. There are many traces of this period, as in the form of the historical center, religious and civil edifices, typical narrow streets, squares, etc.
There are few tangible traces of the early Middle Ages, apart from the vast furrows of the city walls, built from 1154 and completed towards the middle of the 14th century.
In the eleventh century Pisa is an important port. Its trade in the Mediterranean is developing in an important way and it has a military power that allows it many victories over Muslim cities and ships.
It then took advantage of the crusades to extend its commercial trade in the eastern Mediterranean, then along the African coasts where commercial Pisan colonies were founded, even with churches.
Pisa was one of the first municipalities in Italy. Engaged in a pro-imperial policy, it was at one time the only Ghibelline city in Tuscany, openly supporting the policy of the sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire, in opposition to the Pope. Because of this, it was excommunicated in 1241.
The slow decline of the city symbolically begins with the defeat against Genoa in a naval battle in 1284.
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